Automobile wheel truing apparatus



Dec. 13, 1949 E. c. LANGHAM 2,491,117

AUTOMOBILE WHEEL TRUING APPARATUS Filed July 2, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

Za WArJCLAWyZAM BY Dec. 13, 1949 E. c. LANGHAM I 2,491,117

AUTOMOBILE WHEEL TRUING APPARATUS Filed July 2, 1948 s Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

Dec. 13, 1949 E. c. LANGHAM 2,491,117

AUTOMOBILE WHEEL TRUING APPARATUS Filed July 2, 1948 I 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Dec. 13, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,491,113? AEITQMOBILE WHEEL Edward C. Lan gham, Montgomery A pl at n Jo 2 194182 Se ial No: ates Clo e: aa-ra Th invent on r t s t im ovemen in wheel truirig apparatus and more particularly to improved apparatus for adjusting the front wheels of automotive vehicles such as automob l and t uc "It is among the objects of the invention to prov e m ro d wh el a ius i a ra hio is operative to checl; the camber, caster and toeiih of the front wheels of automotive vebi les and appl 'nroe' r t he front Wheel mounting structu e such as the front wheel axle or indepen nt wheel suspension mechao r' it o' r ol or de r e e r whe camb r may be necessary, which apparatus i easy to r e oo m isho h os o 'r t a large slaving in ti me and manual labor, is eimio a d ro l n ons ru ti easy an economical to install, extremely economical to ma ootii e ou oto and ffio ot i op ation and which will accommodate automobiles andtrucks of various sizes and manufacture. 'Qth'er objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the following q 'soriio n a d th a en e c ims n 1 'on t oo w th the c mpa n drawings, he ein:

igu e .1 i a p an i w o t ap a a us ie ratj vo of he inv nti Figure 2 is an end elevation of the apparatus lli trated in i u e 1-s o i f i br k n l e an s'iQt Q 8. a iv n a e by the anooretos;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal cross section of its apparatus illustrated Figure 2 Figure 4 is a perspective'view of a supporting rail'constituting an operative component of the .a m l; a .l og ur bf is a perspective view of a wheel stop, two ofwhich are'iitiliied to limit the movement a; "vehicle front wheels outwardly of the apn r tl ls Figure 6 is a perspective view of a iragmentary o tio o a. movabl J kup o t n e can: stituting' an operative component 'of the ap: a atus;

Figure 6a is a perspective view of a movable, jack-supporting beam of somewhat different 'oor t ot on t n th boom i strat n i re "Figure 7 is a en ot vo ew of hold wo par tor the apparatus;

Figure '81s a perspective view of a lock plate tor t hold-do n m o a ism Fi e s a P r e t v w o e m o hold-down clevis;

Fi u e l i a emcee-two e o a m wha m fied term f h djo n olo o i u o i, .1 h ree? ith a a ti u a ma of automoloile aool A ro 1 s a 11 urther m difi f of hol eoormolovie o th w th he whe ea t t eet! e er nce to he d awi s e imp or d whe l enactin adjust n optus comprises two spacedeapart, substanr e1 supports generally indicated at '1 U exten in oi war lif t fl o level From ne ed e of s o e t n i Each support comprises a pair of heavy channel i o s L rran ed ie etodaoo i e bed sta t ll pan. 1 re at o ship w h o nding ends bear g against the'bacl; vertical wall Not he it s t! Wallei P f om o 9 Qoqc renew o t th p o r to m a of. he su ports e e n angle iron supporting rail 15 is imhedded in the cono s ate he onor osie of h ve oal w I4 i the nitizo a m r oo tha its ou uriaces are flushed l; the floor I6 adjacent the Pit an th vett o wa !4 a is i is firm y n osition b an h r h I1 ex ending th ou h sui abl apertures r ide in the rail and "embedded in the concrete adthe ase or the t E h o t son its v oo H is rri on Pair spa es ap rt edestal l which may he conveniently provided as short sections of st (lard l beam as illustrated or may he corrpillars or other suitable structures as may be found coi veniept; In the illustrated arraeeo t th e e est s. are a chor to t t f1 r 0: 9 th P by u t e Q-ew hrol e d enToh r he m o l iii h oeoqrets oi't e pit fl o 'i bow; a met lower surfaces, on the floor of the pit and at their upper surfacesaga'instthe undersides of the channel irons 13 of the corresponding supports It @1 2 H: ro echre o v Pl o ers t unneriir oss of the oh nn' irons of th support IQ and xte'nds' laterally'b'eyond both ft/11o liaor ol a d a s mi cover plate 2 3 is secured to the upper surfaces of the channel rons t t e onerextend n la era y t loo too Zoom E 'oo c, j il neth upper edge .1 Zia-eel 'iroo i the an e between the outer surface of such channel iron ia-rely ozeteesiioe portion o the o F 2 i 5. 3 131%??? ??t. @Q somew 3%!59? aee e teee. Z aaoe s to the iii-leer sur ace of the inwardly projecting portion of each cover plate abutting each corresponding channel iron 24 to provide a composite member of channel shape along the upper edge of each inner channel iron I3 underlying and secured to the inwardly projecting portion of the cover plate. Rail l5 has two angle brackets 26 secured thereto in alignment with the depending outer legs of the two channel irons 25 which brackets are firmly secured to the corresponding angle irons 25 to secure the supports to the pit wall at the upper edge thereof. Standards 21 extend upwardly from the outer depending legs of angle irons 25 above the corresponding cover plates 22 and 23 and support at their upper ends guard rails 28 positioned one at the inner side which support above the upper surface of the corresponding cover plate to guard the inner sides of the support against the possibility of automobile wheels running off of the supports. A

pair of vertically disposed, spaced apart angle irons 2'! are secured to the end ofreach support opposite the end attached to the pit wall l4 and a wheel stop 33 is secured to the outer end of each support by means of the corresponding angle irons 29. Each wheel stop 30 comprises a rectangular plate 3| from which depend a pair of spaced apart angle iron legs 32 which fit within the outwardly extending legs of the corresponding angle irons 29, the outwardly extending legs of angle irons 29 and 32 being suitably apertured to receive pins 33 which respectively secure the stop plates to the outer ends of the supports.

Respective angle irons 34 extend along the bottom edges of the inner channel irons 3 and rest upon the top of the supports l9. These angle irons 34 are so disposed that one leg at each angle iron is substantially vertical and in contact with the vertical inner surface of the corresponding channel iron 13 and the other struction than the corresponding beam 36 and I is provided particularly for use in correcting the front wheel camber of relatively light automotive vehicle such as passenger automobiles. This beam comprises a pair of channel irons 31 secured together in back-to-back relationship a with their webs spaced apart by spacing blocks 38 extending between the webs one at each end of the beam. This construction provides a longitudinally extending medial slot in the beam between the spacing blocks 38 for a purpose which will presently appear.

The beam 36 is for heavy duty work as correcting the front wheel camber of heavier automotive vehicles such as trucks and busses and comprises a pair of heavy duty I-beams 39 secured in spaced apart, side-by-side relationship by spacing blocks 40 disposed between the web of the I-beani one at each end of the composite beam. This construction also provides a jack supporting beam having a longitudinally extending medial slot 4! between the two I-beam members.

When in operative position the beams 35 and 36 are substantially in vertical alignment with the front supports I9. Both beams are shiftable back and forth along the track provided by the angle irons 34 and either or both of the beams may be removed from the apparatus if it is desired to completely clear the apparatus for work which does not involve the use of either beam. Even when the beams are being used to adjust the front wheel camber of a vehicle the beam being used may be moved to operative position for bending the front axle or wheel suspension mechanism or may be quickly pushed backwardly out of the way for other work incident to properly checking and adjusting the front wheels.

Figure 2 illustrates the manner in which the beams are used for increasing the front Wheel camber of a vehicle. In this arrangement two apertured, hold-down bars 42 are extended downwardly through the medial slot in the appropriate beam 35 or 36 at predetermined positions longitudinally of the vehicle axle 43.

These bars are secured against upper movement relative to the supporting beam 35 or 36 by respective anchoring blocks 44 particularly illustrated in Figure 8. Each anchoring block has a slot therein for receiving major portions of the corresponding hold-down bar and the block is placed so as to receive the bar in the slot or notch 45 of the block with the block bearing against the bottom surface of the block supporting beam. A pin is then inserted through an aperture in the bar immediately below the block so that the bar cannot be pulled upwardly relatively to the beam. A suitable hold-down clevis, such as the clevis 46, particularly illustrated in Figure 11, is then placed over the axle with its apertured legs 41 disposed one at each side of the apertured bar 42 and a pin is inserted through registering apertures in the clevis and the bar to firmly secure the clevis to the bar. After the two hold-down bars and hold-down clevises are secured in operative position, two suitable jacks, preferably hydraulic jacks, 48 are placed upon the jack supporting beam and forced upwardly against the under surface of the vehicles front axle. When it is desired to increase the front wheel camber, as illustrated in Figure 2, the jacks are disposed one at the inner side of each respective hold-down bar 42. When it is desired to decrease the camber the hold-down bars and clevises are positioned somewhat inwardly of the position illustrated in Figure 2 and the jacks are disposed one at the outer side of each respective hold-down bar to force the end portions of the axle upwardly.

In addition to the hold-down clevises 33, each having elongated, substantially parallel legs provided with three longitudinally spaced apart apertures 49 therein other clevises are provided for types of vehicles to which the clevis 43 is not adaptable. For example, a smaller clevis 50 is illustrated in Figure 9 which smaller clevis is of the same shape as the clevis 46 and is preierably of somewhat lighter weight construction and has shorter, parallel legs provided with two spaced apart apertures 5| while the clevis 52, particularly illustrated in Figure 10, is especially designed for use with Ford built automobiles and is of still lighter weight construction than the clevis 53 and has its parallel legs provided with only a single aperture 53 in each leg.

Other clamps and bars may be provided for adjusting various types of independent wheel suspension mechanisms, all of such devices being usable with one or the other of the jack supporting beams 35 and 36.

The cover plate 23 on support ll carries a fixed tread plate 55 thereon which tread plate has a Width substantially equal to that of the cover plate and is provided with a roughened upper surface. The tread plate 55 is shorter than the cover plate and terminates short of the outer end of the support and a rotatable, caster indicating plate 56 is mounted on the cover plate 23 between the forward end of the tread plate 55 and the front end of the support and a similar rotatable plate 55 is mounted on the cover plate 25 of support Ill near the front end of the latter in transverse alignment with the plate 56. These rotatable plates are principally for checking the caster of the vehicle front wheels and are of known construction and constitute no part of the present invention per se. A laterally movable tread plate 5! is mounted on cover plate 22 transversely opposite the fixed tread plate 55 and is also of conventional construction and is provided with a gauge 58 for indicating the toeend of the vehicle front wheels. The rotatable plates 56 and 56' are provided with caster indicating gauges 59 and 59' and the laterally movable gauge plate 51 is also of known construction and does not constitute a part of the present invention except in the combination thereof with the remaining elements of the entire operative construction.

As the front wheels of a vehicle are being adjusted the wheels rest upon the rotatable plates 55 and 56' and may be turned to the right and left as the wheel caster is adjusted until the proper caster is obtained, the steering angle being indicated by the gauges 59 and 59. end is being adjusted the vehicle may be moved backwardly and forwardly along the plates 55 and 51 until the gauge 58 indicates the proper amount of toe-in and, as the wheel camber is being adjusted by the jacks and hold-down clamps, the camber may be measured by suitable gauges of known construction until the proper camber is obtained.

The assembled apparatus provides a unitary device for adjusting and checking the entire steering gear geometry of an automotive vehicle, including the caster, camber and toe-end of the vehicle front wheels, in a single operation with a material saving of time and manual labor and with a degree of accuracy not possible with existing apparatus for this purpose. I

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is therefore to be considered in all As the front respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claim rather than by the foregoin description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claim are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed is:

Checking and adjusting apparatus for the front wheels of automotive vehicles comprising a pair of spaced apart, substantially parallel supports extending outwardly at floor level from one edge of a repair pit to receive the front wheels of an automotive vehicle and carry front wheel checking and adjusting mechanism, at least one jack supporting beam extending transversely between said supports and slidably carried at its ends on the latter, and hold down devices attachable to said beam and to the front wheel carrying structure of an automotive vehicle to hold said structure to said beam against pressure exerted by a jack disposed between said beam and said vehicle structure, each of said supports comprising a pair. of spaced apart, substantially parallel channel irons, an elongated cover plate Secured to the top surfaces of both channel irons and extending laterally therebeyond, a respective angle iron secured in the outside angle between each channel iron and said cover plate, and an angle iron secured along the lower edge of the irmer channel iron providing a support for the corresponding end of said jack supporting beam, a transverse rail secured to the pit wall at said one edge of the pit, means securing each of said supports to said rail, and means extending from the pit bottom to the under surface of each of said supports to sustain said supports at floor level.

EDWARD (J. LANGHAM.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain June 12, 1936 

